Mayor Ashton Hayward wants to hire Coldwell Banker-Richard Ellis (CBRE) to market the Port of Pensacola, Pensacola International Airport and the remaining parcels at the Community Maritime Park.
CBRE was hired last March for $46,500 to develop a marketing strategy for those properties. Apparently that strategy included giving them the broker contract.
Did we waste the $46,500? For a city that’s strapped for cash, our elected officials’ love for hiring consultants is getting expensive.
Why didn’t the city request, last March, proposals for real estate services for these city properties and open it up to local brokers, too?
The listing agreement is for three years – through a series of one-year contracts. CBRE pays for all marketing material and associated costs and receives a four-percent commission, paid upon the receipt of any lease payments to the city.
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And there is one more question that needs to be asked: Is it wise for the city council to commit to a contract behind the mayor’s term? A new mayor might want to do something else.